AIRPLANE CLEANING  
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Tower Hobbies
Enter up to 4 keywords or Tower stock numbers
Logged in as Guest



Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
       


Carden 35% Extra 260 - RTF
Seller:  jmiracle
Details:   $2,950.00   |  10/2/2008   |  Classified Ad
We will rotate YOUR AD in this spot if you select "Forum Featured" when placing or editing your ad!

All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Beginners >> AIRPLANE CLEANING
Page: [1]

Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 9:47:47 PM   
shd3920


 

Posts: 266
Joined: 8/6/2007
From: Pittsfield, MA, USA
Status: offline 		Can a degreaser spray be used as an airplane cleaner?
       Post #: 1

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 10:34:44 PM   
n19htmare


 

Posts: 300
Joined: 3/28/2008
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: shd3920

Can a degreaser spray be used as an airplane cleaner?


It may start to fade the color of your film. Degreasers are strong chemically. Avoid it if possible.

If you have Lowes or Home Depot around, go to the paint section and get a gallon of denatured alcohol for around $11. It will wipe the oil off, dry quickly and not damage the film.
It's great when you want to clean up epoxy or glue as well. Excellent for cleaning the engine.


(in reply to shd3920)
       Post #: 2

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 10:54:46 PM   
nedyob


 

Posts: 1230
Joined: 2/5/2002
From: NORTHWOOD, IA, USA
Status: offline 		I just use the glass & surface cleaner. works great and never dulls the covering.
NEDYOB

(in reply to n19htmare)
       Post #: 3

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 11:10:00 PM   
gaRCfield


 

Posts: 1274
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		I mixed denatured alcohol in with my glass cleaner. I spray the plane down and wait about a full minute before I start wiping, then do the 'dry side' first (opposite the muffler) giving the alcohol/ammonia time to break down the oil from the exhaust on the 'wet side' (muffler side).

_____________________________

..this hobby is doing weird things to me...

(in reply to nedyob)
       Post #: 4

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 11:20:43 PM   
Adui


 

Posts: 510
Joined: 8/24/2007
From: Dayton, OR, USA
Status: offline 		50/50 mix of Isopropyl alchohol and water and a few drops of Dawn dish soap.

(Isopropyl is 89 cents at wal mart for enough for a 16oz spray bottle filled with this mix. The bigger bottle will make two quarts for $1.19 last time I bought it. 70% works, 90% is better, but costs a little more.)

Cleans at least as well as glass cleaner and leaves no film, for less than $1 per quart. (16oz spray bottle)

< Message edited by Adui -- 6/26/2008 11:25:33 PM >

_____________________________

Chance favors the prepared mind. ~Louis Pasteur~

(in reply to gaRCfield)
       Post #: 5

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 11:27:41 PM   
plugin



Posts: 449
Joined: 5/12/2007
From: Bogota, COLOMBIA
Status: online 		This topic comes up a lot. I've read that using any type of alcohol will eventually deteriorate the gloss of the plane's covering. I use regular ammonia-free glass cleaner which I believe up there in the U.S would correspond to Windex Crystal Rain. I haven't tried mixing some dawn but if I'm not mistaken I think MinnFlyer does this and works real good so I'll give it a try.

< Message edited by plugin -- 6/26/2008 11:28:10 PM >

_____________________________

I am the R/C Stig.

(in reply to Adui)
       Post #: 6

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 11:33:20 PM   
RCKen



Posts: 14735
Joined: 7/10/2002
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Status: online 		I buy a gallon of windshield washer fliud and mix in some Dawn Dishwashing liquid. The gallon costs ~$1 and is enough to last an entire season.

Ken

_____________________________

The take off is optional, but the landing is MANDATORY!!
AMA # 712539 www.gettingairborne.com
Moderator- Beginner''s, Sport Flying, Off-Topic, & AMA Discussions
RCU Community Moderator

(in reply to plugin)
       Post #: 7

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/26/2008 11:36:05 PM   
Dan D


 

Posts: 36
Joined: 8/31/2002
From: Stratford, CT, USA
Status: offline 		Model Airplane News around 1991 printed a cleaner you can make at home and is real cheap, I've used it for years and it works great. Use 1 tablespoon of liquid car wash, 1 tablespoon Armorall, and 8 ounces water mixed in a spray bottle. Spray on and wipe off. Be carefull with alcohol, windex,amonia,and clorine as they can harm our film covering and glue joints over time. I've seen it happen to friends planes. Dan

(in reply to Adui)
       Post #: 8

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 2:16:31 AM   
Bob Mitchell


 

Posts: 543
Joined: 3/23/2008
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: shd3920

Can a degreaser spray be used as an airplane cleaner?


Scrubbing Bubbles. (bathroom cleaner from the grocery)

I can't take credit for the idea, saw it posted here. I'm not that experienced, but it works better than the Windex I was using. A couple of experienced pilots at the field asked to try it and were immediately sold. It comes out as a foam and sticks to the surfaces. Wipes clean very easily, and the covering just feels clean.

Bob

_____________________________

Bob Mitchell AMA 903015
H9 Alpha 60/Evolution 61NT, Sig 4* 60/OS 75AX, Futaba 7C 2.4GHz

(in reply to shd3920)
       Post #: 9

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 10:48:47 PM   
SebM


 

Posts: 102
Joined: 12/17/2006
From: Trois-Rivieres, QC, CANADA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: RCKen

I buy a gallon of windshield washer fliud and mix in some Dawn Dishwashing liquid. The gallon costs ~$1 and is enough to last an entire season.

Ken

Ken, how much is "some" Dawn dishwashing liquid ? I just purchase Rain-X windshield washer and the original Dawn dishwashing liquid. I'm ready to make my mixte but I don't want to add too little or too much. Do you measure your quantity or can you give me an estimate for a one liter bottle ? So far I was using Windex and this is fine but I am open to try a cheaper alternative if it work as good or maybe even better.

Thanks,
Séb

(in reply to RCKen)
       Post #: 10

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 10:56:01 PM   
RCKen



Posts: 14735
Joined: 7/10/2002
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Status: online
quote:

ORIGINAL: SebM


quote:

ORIGINAL: RCKen

I buy a gallon of windshield washer fliud and mix in some Dawn Dishwashing liquid. The gallon costs ~$1 and is enough to last an entire season.

Ken

Ken, how much is "some" Dawn dishwashing liquid ? I just purchase Rain-X windshield washer and the original Dawn dishwashing liquid. I'm ready to make my mixte but I don't want to add too little or too much. Do you measure your quantity or can you give me an estimate for a one liter bottle ? So far I was using Windex and this is fine but I am open to try a cheaper alternative if it work as good or maybe even better.

Thanks,
Séb


Seb,
I don't measure it when i put it in. It's usually a few good "squirts" of Dawn. I know that doesn't help much. With a full bottle of windshield washing fluid you won't be able to put much more than a few squirts in it anyway.

Ken

_____________________________

The take off is optional, but the landing is MANDATORY!!
AMA # 712539 www.gettingairborne.com
Moderator- Beginner''s, Sport Flying, Off-Topic, & AMA Discussions
RCU Community Moderator

(in reply to SebM)
       Post #: 11

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 10:59:57 PM   
Adui


 

Posts: 510
Joined: 8/24/2007
From: Dayton, OR, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: RCKen

I buy a gallon of windshield washer fliud and mix in some Dawn Dishwashing liquid. The gallon costs ~$1 and is enough to last an entire season.

Ken


Hmmm.. Cheaper than my mix, and leaves out the Alcohol that some caution againts using, (Im too new to knowbetter but like to play it safe.) Sounds like a good deal to me!!

_____________________________

Chance favors the prepared mind. ~Louis Pasteur~

(in reply to RCKen)
       Post #: 12

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 11:05:55 PM   
bingo field



Posts: 976
Joined: 5/6/2004
From: Mt. Morris, NY, USA
Status: offline 		I just use the Rain-X windshield wash. Spray on, wipe down. Even cleans off the hard to remove blood trails from hordes of mosquitoes that come out this time of year. I guess to eliminate that problem completely, you could just use Deet on the plane before you fly...

_____________________________

http://www.tailhook.org/AVSLANG.htm
Sign over Ready Room Door: "Complacency Kills" - Thimk

(in reply to Adui)
       Post #: 13

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 11:18:28 PM   
SebM


 

Posts: 102
Joined: 12/17/2006
From: Trois-Rivieres, QC, CANADA
Status: offline 		Thanks Ken,

I won't add the Dawn liquid directly into the one gallon of windshield washer so I can add whatever amount I want. I have lot's of empty spray bottles so here is what I will do : I will add 5ml in one, 10ml in the other, 15, 20 and will do some trial to find which one do the best job of cleaning whitout creating a soapyness and get messy more than it clean. My guess is it need only a small quantity.

Hope that we will get good weather ( not looking good so far here ) so I can fly a lot this week-end and try my new cleaning stuff

Séb

(in reply to bingo field)
       Post #: 14

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 11:20:56 PM   
TakingFlight96


 

Posts: 274
Joined: 10/4/2007
From: Milton, WI, USA
Status: offline 		I just use Windex or multi-surface cleaner and they work great. But, while cleaning one of my dads plane off, I found that the cheap generic stuff left these big blue streaks across the wing.



TakingFlight96

_____________________________

For anybody who says Girls can''t fly, I just wanted to tell you... your wrong.

(in reply to bingo field)
       Post #: 15

RE: AIRPLANE CLEANING - 6/27/2008 11:30:48 PM